To enhance the breathing of a patient with a tracheal tube or an endotracheal tube, ventilation and suction systems are used. These systems are connected, by means of a connector, to the tracheal tube. (The term endotracheal tube henceforth should be taken to mean either an endotracheal tube or a tracheal tube.) The ventilation system provides ventilation to the patient while the suction system removes the fluids such as for example mucus secretions that accumulate in the trachea and the bronchi of the patient.
Oftentimes a patient connected to a tracheal tube has an acute lung injury. Consequently, medication must be provided to the patient. However, given that the endotracheal tube is connected in circuit with both the ventilator and the suction systems, prior to the instant invention, to supply medication to the patient, the systems, or at least one of the systems, connected to the patient's endotracheal tube has to be removed before medication may be supplied to the lungs of the patient. Needless to say, such removal and replacement of the ventilator and suction lines to the endotracheal tube is cumbersome, and oftentimes causes discomfort to the patient.
PCT publication WO95/08356 by the Assignee of the instant invention discloses the addition of an adapter in the ventilation circuit of the patient. The complete disclosure of the '356 publication is incorporated by reference to the disclosure of the instant application. The instant invention is an improvement of the adapter disclosed in the '356 publication. An alternative embodiment, as well as a method of using the same are also disclosed herein.